New Hampshire deeds and probates are recorded on the county level. An act forming counties was passed in 1769, but the Province continued to record deeds and probates until 1771. Strafford did not organize as quickly as the other original counties, beginning its functions in 1773. After 1771, deeds are located at the county registry of deeds and probate records are located at the county registry of probate. Both registries are located at the county seat, but sometimes in different buildings. All addresses are from the New Hampshire Government Resources website www.nh.gov/government/local.html and Melnyk’s Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research, 4th ed. (see Background Sources for New Hampshire). Deeds and probate records on microfilm at the New Hampshire Historical Society and at the New Hampshire Division of Records and Archives go through 1771, with Rockingham County deeds at the archives through 1824. At the FHL and the New England Historic Genealogical Society they go from inception to ca. 1850. Later records are only available at the appropriate county office unless otherwise indicated in the following chart.

Map

County

County Address

Date Formed

Parent County(ies)

Vital Records

Court Records

G4

Belknap

64 Court St., Laconia 03246

1841

Strafford/Merrimack

1841

1841

County courthouse has copies of Strafford County deeds covering land that became part of Belknap after formation in 1840.

E5

Carroll

P.O. Box 163 (deeds), P.O. Box 419 (probate), Ossipee 03864

1841

Strafford/Grafton

1841

1841

K2

Cheshire

33 West St. (deeds), 12 Court St.(probate), Keene 03431

1771

original

1771

1771

B5

Coos

55 School St., Lancaster 03584

1803

Grafton

1803*

1887

*Fire damaged thirty-three volumes of the pre-1887 deeds and all of the probate records before that date. Damaged deeds were transcribed when possible and are retained in the courthouse. Seven volumes of Grafton deeds relating to Coos County before formation are kept in a separate series with separate indexes covering 1772—1803.